The Lively Loire City of Tours

Tours

In 1979, when I was twenty-one, I traveled abroad and worked as an au pair for a wealthy French family in the Loire Valley. The small town of  where I lived was charming, but I was also drawn to the nearby larger town of Tours.

The Petite Prince Returns

When my husband and I moved from Washington to Arizona in 2014, we had to do a lot of downsizing. As I rummaged through old boxes, sorting “keep” piles and “give away” piles, I stumbled across my copy of Le Petit Prince (The Little Prince) from my stay in France, in 1980. My heart lurched as I picked up the well-used book, turned to the first page and discovered  an inscription — long forgotten — from “Michel,” one of my love interests in my sequel, French Illusions, From Tours to Paris.  

French Illusions: My Five Best Writing Tips

My first memoir, French Illusions, My Story as an American Au Pair in the Loire Valley, took me three years and countless hours to complete. During that time, I studied and learned how to write. Of course I also hired editors to finalize the process.

My Book Editing Journey

Choosing an editor for French Illusions back in 2013 wasn’t easy. As a matter of fact, it was downright difficult. I searched the web for many months, pouring through blogs and editors guilds until I found three candidates who looked promising. I asked for references, contacted all  of them and received good feedback.

A Favorite Character in French Illusions

Years ago, while writing French Illusions, My Story as an American Au Pair in the Loire Valley, I particularly enjoyed recounting interactions with Antoine, my four-year-old ward at the Château de Montclair. He was such a sweet, goofy kid and he often voiced his affections for me with exuberant enthusiasm. His antics made me smile more often than not and I remember him fondly to this day. Here is an excerpt from my memoir. 

French Illusions: Photos Introducing Parts Three and Four

As promised, here is the second installment explaining why I chose the photos introducing the four “parts” in French Illusions, My Story as an American Au Pair in the Loire Valley. In my earlier blog, I focused on Part One and Part Two, and today I will move on to Parts Three and Four.

French Illusions: Photos Introducing Part One and Two

Recently, a reader asked about the photos introducing the four “parts” in French Illusions, My Story as an American Au Pair in the Loire Valley. It was my publisher’s design team that came up with this fantastic idea.

Who was Marcel?

Marcel was one of the most unexpected characters in my memoir, French Illusions, My Story as an American Au Pair in the Loire Valley. From our first encounter, it was hard to reconcile that this quirky, enthusiastic man was my employer’s brother, but even Marcel suggested he was the “black sheep” of the family. He loved America, the language and the country music scene. As you will see in the following excerpt, his English was a bit rough too.            

Nanny Anxiety  

Looking back at my life choices in 1979, when I was twenty-one, I still can’t believe I pretended to speak French to acquire a nanny position in France. Aside from the obvious fact that this deception was wrong, I didn’t have a lot of experience with childcare, especially infants. The bulk of my knowledge on this subject came from some unexpected sources during my youth, which you will read about below.

Ezvid Wiki Finds French Illusions Inspiring

Occasionally people contact me requesting I link to their website. I rarely accept the offer, but Ezvid Wiki  piqued my interest and I decided to take them up on their offer.

Ezvid Wiki describes their site as the “largest and most comprehensive video wiki on the planet, providing useful, unbiased information and actionable guidance to hundreds of millions of people around the world, in thousands of knowledge categories.”